Power in Alone

As I was sitting by the water, creating some art. The Holy Spirit spoke to me,   

 “I had to teach you alone, before I could show you together.”

As I sat and pondered this small little sentence, I became insatiably grateful for what he meant. I’m in kind of a funny season. A lot of my older friends have work (ha perks of being a preschool teacher), a couple others are moving to other countries, and even more are dotted across the different states. Something that I have had to learn and relearn is how to combat loneliness. Sometimes it feels like a constant fight to command the feeling to leave. Lies flood in sometimes. Saying that because I can’t seem to get all the people I love all in one spot, somehow that means their love is less. Maybe this thought is stemmed in my want of this or that relationship, or perhaps the idea that I am missing the boat of opportunity by being disconnected from the world with just the Lord. Regardless, I think you all know what feeling I am referring to.

While all of these are just adlibed loosely pieced together thoughts and ideas, I believe that the voice of the Holy Spirit had something very important to remind me of tonight. I believe that Jesus gave us the gift of the helper, advocate, friend Holy Spirit as an aide for one very human emotion: loneliness. In him, we are promised to never be left alone(Hebrews 13:5). While sitting next to the setting sun watching the waves wrestle with one another, a smile crept across my face.

“I had to teach you alone, before I could show you together.”

This feeling satan had slipped into my mind, was in fact being transformed into beauty and authority. In this season of having more time on my hands and less things to do, I have really gotten to love being alone and creating with the Lord. Not to say that my time with him before was not valuable, but getting to sit in silence and stillness and create next to creator God has revealed to me just how sacred this space is. In these months before the Worldrace, a time of complete community and fellowship and “togetherness”, God has slowly been taking away some of the static in my life. All in hopes that this time of rest and learning would prepare me for the crazy insane lack of alone I will be getting the privilege to live, here in just a few short months. I love just how he reminds me that he alone will satisfy my soul. That I can absolutely believe in him as father, friend, provider, healer, and everything else he has revealed in his word. Despite all the technicalities and chaos and “life” things that yell for me to give in to distraction, I love this secret place where I get to sit with Holy Spirit, friend, and talk.

In the words of River Valley Worship’s song “I Am Healed” – “chaos, you have no power here”, because I’m learning to claim authority over you and finding beauty and color in the mundane. Thank you God for the infinite wealth of truth you have to speak over my life, even a “mundane” life with you is full to the brim with joy. 

brought to you by my messy thoughts,

                                                  Carissa 

P.S. I am so close to being funded!! Only about $4,000 to go YIPEE!!! Thank you all for your constant support and love in this super cool journey, please let me know if there are ways that I can be praying for YOU!!! 

Ok, bye for real 🙂